Proclaiming the Good News Gospel of Jesus the Messiah to all nations.

Tag Archives: Middle East

Thirteen books of the Bible speak of the nation of Israel being restored to their land from the nations in which they were scattered. This prophecy became history in

1948 when the United Nations granted a homeland to the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel was reborn. However, the land that the State of Israel occupies today is only a fraction of the entire amount of land actually promised by God.

Yehovah God didn’t promise the Jewish people Pre-1967 borders, He promised them the entire land of Israel – from the Egyptian River as far as the River Euphrates. When Jesus the Messiah returns again, the Nation of Israel will have its land restored to the fullest.

Yehovah God’s eternal covenant with Abraham and his descendents:

“When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants [through Isaac] I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” – Genesis 15: 17-21

Jesus the Messiah will return and restore the Jews to the land of Israel from all the nations in which they were scattered.

”However, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.” – Jeremiah 16:14-16

Israelis were relieved to hear of last week’s near-unanimous passing of a US Senate resolution demanding full American support should Israel deem it necessary to attack Iran’s nuclear program. The resolution, which was voted for by 99 out of 100 senators, read:

“If the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with United States law and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence.”

The resolution went on to urge the Obama Administration to take its own steps to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon so that Israel does not reach the point where it feels compelled to take action. Last Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published yet another report casting suspicion on Iran’s nuclear activities, and validating concerns that the Islamic Republic seeks atomic weapons. The report noted that Iran has of late significantly upgraded its ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, and that work advances on a plutonium-producing reactor. Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported at the weekend that the Islamic Republic has fielded a “massive” number of mobile long-range missile launchers. The move is a clear warning against any action targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities. Should Israel or the US threaten Iran’s nuclear program, the missiles would presumably be launched at the Jewish state and American military bases in the Middle East in an overwhelming simultaneous attack

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister during recent meetings

There are possible indications President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu have come to some sort of private understanding over Iran. Some are now speculating that during the President’s recent visit to Israel, Obama gave Netanyahu a green light to do whatever Israel has to do to stop Iran.Endtimeheadlines writes, “America will give Israel the advanced weapons it needs for a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear sites, but will not join in that fight. Obama said, ‘we’ve got your back,’ but did not say ‘we’ll be with you shoulder to shoulder should fighting break out.’”

We pray that if diplomatic measures continue to fail, and Israel has no choice but to preemptively strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in order to protect itself, that Jehovah God will give Israel victory in the upcoming war.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.“ – Psalms 121:1-8

The wisdom of Rabbi Goldstein is obvious when he writes, “this is your historic opportunity. If it is seized, the moral legacy of the world will be redeemed forever, and you, Mr. President, will inscribed by G-d Himself in the heavenly book of history as the great American President who stood with Israel to save it and the world from another Holocaust, and in so doing to strengthen the forces of freedom, democracy and the sanctity and dignity of life, for these historic times.”

Let us pray for President Barack Obama to continue to support Israel and help prevent a potential Iranian Holocaust.

The president of the United States, Barack Obama, begins a second term in office in just a few days on January 20, 2013. For the next four years, President Obama and his cabinet of advisors must look for solutions to address the following problems and threats to national security:

Runaway financial deficits

Heightened fear and lack of national hope

Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons and potential violence

Tensions and eruptions of violence in the Middle East

The threat of China as a rising economic and military power (China holds in its hands billions of dollars in American debt and is challenging long-standing American supremacy in the region of Asia).

America’s $ 16 trillion debt as a threat to national security. Even the world’s most powerful nation can eventually spend itself into bankruptcy.

The most serious threat.

The most serious threat to America’s national security is the sins of the nation and the forsaking of God’s laws. America was original founded as a Christian republic. It’s founding fathers made an agreement with God to live by His laws. For over two hundred years, Almighty God has blessed and prospered the United States because of its adherence to the Ten Commandments and the Bible as a basis for our civil form of government. The majority of the framers of the U.S. Constitution were men who read the Bible and practiced its principles. They understood the character of the people of this nation had to be in line with God’s spiritual laws in order for the country to prosper.

But over the course of many decades now, America has backslidden and departed from its Christian character and has become primarily a secular nation – no longer believing in the living God that prospered it, and having no use for His spiritual and moral laws. As a result, the blessings of God have increasingly been lost, and the curses of God in Deuteronomy 28 have overtaken us.

”But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…“ – Deuteronomy 28:15

Because God holds a nation accountable who claims to be “Christian” by honoring and representing Him, the curses of breaking its covenant with God are being fulfilled.

Moses prophesied to Israel of the blessings and curses of obeying or breaking God’s covenant in great detail in the Book of Deuteronomy. I believe these same blessings and curses apply to America today. The curses America is experiencing today – economic problems, national catastrophes, and so on, are directly related to America’s forsaking of God.

Will America repent before it’s too late?

We don’t know. But the Word of God has given us the solution to all of our national problems in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Because God is merciful and patient, He promises to turn back the curses upon America if it will turn back to Him. Let us continue to pray for President Obama and the leaders of the United States to repent and return America back to God before it is too late. If we will humble ourselves and seek His pardon He will heal our land. Let us also examine our own lives and repent of our own personal sins. Every one of us has a personal responsibility to live by God’s laws if we would hope to be happy in this life and continue in His blessings. Amen.

I recently came across the following article on the Spanish website www.Semana.com. This reliable editorial details the latest revelations on the true ancestry of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) and the primary motivation behind the discovery of The Americas. It further confirms my own Jewish ancestry that dates back to the migration of Spanish Jews to the island of Cuba onboard the voyages of Columbus.

Here are some highlights of these recent revelations:

Christopher Columbus was not of Italian nationality as previously supposed. He was actually a Spanish Jew who went to great lengths to hide his Jewish-ness by obscuring his childhood records. However, much of Columbus’ personal correspondence contained reference to King David of the Bible, the often used term “Bet Hei” (which is Hebrew for “with God’s help”) and his letters were written from right to left in the Hebrew reading fashion, instead of left to right.

During this period in history, the Spanish Inquisition was in full force. The powerful Roman Catholic Church in Spain was arresting, imprisoning, torturing, and burning alive all Jews in Spain who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. It is estimated that as many as 120,000 Jews fled from Spain to avoid the persecution. Many of these Jews traveled on Columbus’ voyages and populated the countries of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Hispaniola (today Dominican Republic/Haiti), Venezuela, Panama, Honduras, Mexico, and many other islands in the Caribbean. Columbus himself is buried in the Dominican Republic.

Many Jews who remained in Spain changed their Jewish names and identities to avoid persecution. They also pretended to convert to Roman Catholicism while practicing their own Jewish religion in secret. These new Jewish converts were nevertheless labeled “Marranos*” (swine or pigs) and Christopher Columbus is believed to have been one of those professing conversion while remaining a secret Jew.

Columbus’ first voyage set sail from Spain on August 3, 1492. It is believed this date was deliberately chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the destruction of the two Jewish temples in Israel.

Contrary to previous opinion, the voyages of Columbus that resulted in the discovery of the Americas was not financed by the Catholic kings Fernando II de Aragón and Isabel I de Castilla, but by the wealthy Jewish community (Marranos*) who remained in Spain.

Map of Spanish colonization of North America many years before the English Puritans landed.

Christopher Columbus made a total of four trips to the Americas during 1492-1504. It is believed that during these trips to the Caribbean Islands and Central and South America, hundreds and thousands of Jews disembarked and began lives in the new world with religious freedom. It’s no wonder that these new colonies began to thrive under God’s favor. God has historically blessed the nations that supported the Jewish people.

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:3

Could it be that these countries were blessed of God because of the first Jewish inhabitants? Let us remember that the United States was first colonized by Jews from Spain in the areas of Florida (Spanish word meaning “Feast of Flowers”) and other parts of the U.S. eastern coastline. It is quite possible that the United States was blessed of God – not only because of the English Puritan colonists, but also because of the first Spanish-Jewish settlers.

There are many Jewish Cubans (nicknamed “Jewbans”) like myself who’s ancestors first settled on the island of Cuba fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th Century. Here is a new version of Hava Nagila performed by Cuban singers and dancers (possibly descendents of Spanish Jews) within a backdrop of Old Havana, Cuba. In this video, they have incorporated the Cuban “salsa” rhythms. “Hava Nagila” (Hebrew: “Let Us Rejoice”) is a popular Hebrew folk song that is traditionally sung at Jewish weddings, and Bar Mitzvah’s.

During the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Cuban planes and pilots brought nearly 150,000 Jews to Israel from Iraq, Iran, Yemen, and India. “Unreported for nearly 60 years, the airlift was one of the largest in history”

Marranos: Secret Passover Seder in Spain during the times of the Spanish Inquisition, painting by Moshe Maimon.

* Marranos (Spanish: [ma-rranos]; were originally Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who had been forced to convert to Roman Catlocism, some of whom may have continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret. The term came into later use in 1492 with the Castilian Alhambra Decree, reversing protections originally in the Treaty of Granada (1491). The converts were also known as Cristianos nuevos (Spanish) and Cristãos novos (Portuguese), which mean New Christians, and conversos (the converted).

The term Marrano derives from Arabic muarram; meaning “forbidden, anathematized”. Marrano in 15th century Spanish first meant pig, from the ritual prohibition against eating pork, practiced by both Jews and Muslims. Marrano in Spanish still means pig and dirty, but it is no longer commonly related to religious beliefs.

Although originally the term was used by common people, the insult was mostly racist. Marrano acquired connotations of “filthy-dirty” (sucio) and “unscrupulous” (sin escrúpulos) during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, when the term was used to impugn the character of the recalcitrant crypto-Jew. In contemporary Portuguese the word refers only to crypto-Jews, with marrão meaning the animal pig or swine.

Today, even among Jewish historians, the term ‘marrano’ is no longer considered correct. The preferred terms are ‘anusim’ (Hebrew for “forced”); or ‘conversos’ or ‘conversas’ (Spanish) for men and woman respectively (singular ‘converso’ and ‘conversa’).

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the nation of Iran have vowed to “wipe the State of Israel off the map.”

Iran's modern Hitler, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Germany's Adolph Hitler

Like Adolph Hitler, they will accept nothing less than the complete destruction of the Jewish people. In the face of this implacable madness, Israel has no choice but to preemptively strike Iran’s nuclear capabilities in order to preserve its own safety. Christians and Jews must unite in prayer for Israel’s victory in the soon coming war.

Bible prophecy also tells us that Yahovah God will support Israel in their defense. Israel’s enemies may spew their relentless hate rhetoric and threats, but God, Himself, will destroy anyone who tries to harm His covenant people. Throughout history, God has demonstrated that He will protect the Jewish people and give them ultimate victory. Time and time again, the LORD has put Israel’s enemies to shame and He will do the same for Iran and any other nation that aligns itself with her. The Psalmist once wrote about this:

“Keep not you silence, O God: hold not your peace, and be not still, O God. For, see, your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate you have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against your people, and consulted against your hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. Do to them as to the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison…Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burns a wood, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire; So persecute them with your tempest, and make them afraid with your storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek your name, O LORD. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yes, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that you, whose name alone is YAHOVAH, are the most high over all the earth.” – Psalm 83:1-4; 9-10; 13-18

The prophet Ezekiel also predicted God’s judgment upon Israel’s enemies:

“You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ “ – Ezekiel 38:16; 22-23

Standing with Israel brings blessing

The LORD God has also promised to bless all those who stand by the Jewish people. He made a covenant with Abraham and his Hebrew descendents long ago:

“The LORD [Yahovah] had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’” – Genesis 12:1-3

Please continue to stand with Israel and pray for the peace and prosperity of Jerusalem.

“In this reality we are witnessing the attempts of our enemies near and far to hit all we have built. The State of Israel since its establishment has not accepted and will not accept a threat to its citizens. Along with the longing for peace, the IDF stands firmly against these threats; a strong, trained and prudent army; a determined army advanced army, ready for any battle and every task.” – Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz , IDF Chief of Staff

Shimon Peres

“Israel was born out of a big dream and it has built a reality that has exceeded the size of the dream, but still we must build and defend Israel. I dream of being able to just be a man of good news, I wish I could come here and tell you that the hatred towards our country has ceased. That our enemies have been defeated, that we will live only in peace, now and forever. But, unfortunately, we haven’t yet reached this.” – Israel President, Shimon Peres.